But when the solo anchor for both the 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts asked her bosses if it would be possible to scale back her hours following her maturnity leave, they said no. And so did she — a rarity in the TV business, especially in New York, the biggest television market in the U.S.

“It was an all-or-nothing deal,” Applegate told the Daily News. “They were offering me a new contract, but I figured that I had been putting my career in front of life for so many years that it was time to focus on something else.”

Then there was issue of being a solo anchor. On many other stations, news anchors usually work in pairs, but Ch. 11 is currently a one-anchor operation, “and there’s no margin for error,” she said. “I understand how rare these jobs are,” Applegate said. “But I’m very happy with my choice.”